Life as a Lewis

Where to begin? Let's start with our whirlwind trip to Little Rock for the annual denominational convention, which included youth competition in areas such as music, art, drama, and multiple Bible categories. Rory competed in a children's choir and individual drama. Camden competed in Bible memorization and vocal solo. Becky and her boys (along with a large group from her church) were present and competed in many categories. We spent 2 days running back and forth between competition rooms. Our hotel rooms were miraculously side by side. I have no idea how that happened, but it was awfully convenient! I'm not sure how we missed taking a picture, but we did - only a quick (but cute) one of the cousins. Brian is officially not  a teacher, is  a full-time pastor, and is  a bus driver after passing his test Friday. The county's previous record was 21 days of training, but Brian completed it in a mere 17 days. This was not an easy process, and I am so proud o...

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.  Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy. -Psalm 34:4-5 I am desperately behind in blogging because summers are bananas. What happened to lounging around? Binge watching your favorite show? Eating ice cream every night.? Okay, we've actually got that one down. I'm just going to hit a few summer favorites and call it good. Eating . . .  Anyone else having a hard time cooking in this heat? We've been pulling out cheese, summer sausage, crackers with some fruit and veggies multiple times a week. And Rory is baking. Babysitting  . . . As a thank you to some friends, we've done a little childcare these past few weeks. Our kids have had a blast playing and so have we. It's also a good reminder that I'm not sad we're past the younger stage. Camden couldn't be there one night so he left out his legos for the boys. :) Surviving . . .  We...

I've never given much thought to psychology, counseling, or therapy. Not until my oncologist suggested I might benefit from talking to a professional, that is. Maybe the fact that I stopped taking medication without permission and increasingly spent my time crying and feeling incredibly anxious were her first clues? She sent me to a psychologist who specializes in oncology.  I showed up to my first session with absolutely no expectations. I know very few people who have utilized counseling. I didn't have negative feelings; counseling was just a complete unknown. I walked away from that first 1-hour session with every single bit of my makeup cried off but feeling 100 pounds lighter. I didn't realize how much I had been withdrawing from everyone around me, how much I was hiding from my family and my doctors, how many tears I was shedding. Riding the ups and downs of cancer has never been easy, but I've managed fairly well until recently. As Dr. PC walked through vari...